$30K in fines for South Dakota poacher who roped and tied live deer to his truck 🤔

If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get another mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• Attempted tagging - A bizarre poaching case that involves tying deer to trucks 🤷

• Big rescue - BC bear hunters attacked by grizzly 🐻

• Speed record shattered - Another buck duck was clocked at over 100 MPH 💨

• No contest - Illinois is after coyote and other hunting contests 🏆

• If Messi was an elk - Watch as an elk literally plays soccer with a group of Colorado kids ⚽️

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NO WORD ON MOTIVE
$30K IN FINES FOR SOUTH DAKOTA POACHER WHO ROPED AND TIED LIVE DEER TO HIS TRUCK

Charges stemming from a three-year legal battle have finally come to fruition in a historic poaching case coming out of South Dakota. 

The investigation, which dates back to 2020, was kicked off when state conservation officers were tipped off about a number of dead deer found in Potter County. Located in central South Dakota, the reports carried a certain sense of peculiarity to them as all of the animals were found during the late summer months, well ahead of scheduled hunting seasons.

While the accused has not yet been named, a release from South Dakota’s Turn in Poachers (TIPs) last week confirmed that the multi-years investigation had finally culminated in a slew of charges. 

“Over the course of the investigation, it was found that at least 12 deer were killed throughout all times of year, without proper licensing and no regard to laws in Potter County,” the agency said…

⛑️ Search and rescued - A British Columbia man was brutally attacked by a grizzly bear last week while hunting the dense backcountry. Tracking a bear with his father, the 36-year-old victim was ambushed and attacked on a steep mountainside in the Rocky Mountains. 

"The man was able to defend himself with his firearm and the bear ran off," while his father called for help, Elk Valley RCMP said in a news release Friday morning.

While the hunter’s injuries are nothing to take likely, the real story here is the swift and strategic actions taken by Elkford Search and Rescue (SAR). With steep terrain and unreliable weather, the rescue was wrought with complications and crews had to use a series of ropes to lower the victim 200 meters down the mountain to allow for safe extraction. 

"The subject was actually about 500 metres deep into the bush in some very thick and rugged terrain," said SAR search manager Kevin Atherton. "There are some very steep sections. It was an area that had been logged previously, so as it grows in, it grows in pretty thick."

The victim was airlifted to hospital in Calgary where he was treated for lacerations and broken bones. He is expected to make a full recovery.

📈 Mountain state elk are on the up and up - With a small reintroduction kicking off in 2016, biologists and researchers alike have been closely monitoring West Virginia’s elk populations. While neighboring Kentucky went all-in with their reintroduction efforts by bringing in 1,500 animals right off the bat, West Virginia started with just 99 - and 14 of them died shortly thereafter. 

With a more hands-on approach, researchers are paying particularly close attention to the diversity of the animals and how they interact with each other. Made up of two subspecies (Manitoban elk and Rocky Mountain elk), the genetic make up of West Virginia’s herd’s is the subject of this new study that aims at focusing on the important implications about the future sustainability of these populations.

“We’re trying to link any differences we find genetically to physical characteristics of the elk,” the program coordinator said. “Adaptive differences can express themselves in real-life ways, like body and antler size. And because of the sexual selection process, that has a large influence on whether they mate and pass their genes on to the next generation. We’re looking for genes that we can maybe link to body size or survival and reproduction.”

🦆 Speed record shattered - “And just like that, our speed record has been broken again” the post from the Cohen Wildlife Ecology Lab read earlier this week. While the lab spends a lot of their time tracking turkeys, they are best known for looking to the skies, tracking the annual migration of waterfowl species. With a number of collared birds heading north, the lab’s research identifies patterns across North America’s flyways and, in this case, monitors their speed. After crowning a drake mallard with the title of fastest in flight in early April after it was clocked at 99.3 MPH, another drake has since taken the crown. With data coming back from yet another drake mallard, the lab found that this bird traveled at a tops speed of 103 MPH, also on his way to Canada for the summer season. What’s remarkable about the data on both ducks is that each of the speed recordings took place on the very same day. The pair are now making their home in Canada and according to the lab are hopefully keeping an eye on their nesting hens.

🏆 No more contests - In a move that is sure to please those as far removed from hunting as possible, Illinois has passed a bill that would outlaw any form of hunting contests within the state’s borders. The bill, which passed through the House this week, was brought into fruition after the Humane Society of America criticized a coyote contest that took place in 2023.

Likening the contests to dog and cock fighting was a bit of stretch, even for the Humane Society crowd, but is one of the talking points they seem to be leaning on. The bill has (thankfully) come under scrutiny from Rep. Wayne Rosenthal (R-Morrisonville) who maintains that these contests are created to get hunters together and lawfully remove predatory animals, such as coyotes, that have been proven to be detrimental to farmers.

“Hunting competitions help control the overpopulation of coyotes and racoons, but HB2900 labels these competitions as inhumane,” Rosenthal said. “Hunting coyotes is legal year-round in Illinois, yet holding competitions that raise funds for local charities is frowned upon by those who live in the suburbs who are not adversely affected by coyotes.” 

The bill is now headed to the Senate.

VIDEO // ^{_{SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN}}

⚽️ Pass it to me, Wapiti! - In a once-in-a-lifetime incident, a few Colorado kids had the opportunity to play soccer with one of their state’s native elk. After interrupting play, one of the players passed the ball up the hill to the playful elk who dribbled the ball before returning to the players down on the field.